Molly Leiberman Loops It Up

You NEED to Make a Hat!

SCAD fibers grad Molly Leiberman has come up with a stellar idea: 

New Year Hats 2011, 

which pairs up knitters with children who need warm, cozy hats for this winter. 

All levels of knitters are encouraged to participate, and patterns and yarn are available if needed. Sign up now and be paired with a child to knit for byNov. 20th. Finished hats are due by Jan. 5th, 2011 so all the children will receive them at the same time. 

Please email Molly to sign up today!

Artist Molly Leiberman with Loop it Up student

Molly, a regular contributing artist at shopSCAD is now Project Coordinator for 

Loop it Up, a fiber arts after-school enrichment program, based at the West Broad Street YMCA in Savannah, Ga. This is an exciting program in which five through 14-year olds are given the opportunity to develop artistic skills and make beautiful artwork in a safe & exciting multi-generational environment. In 2008, the Craft Yarn Council of America met with community organizers to get the program started. 

Soon after, Cayewah Easley (SCAD fibers professor and department chair) was asked to help launch the program, which was initially designed to be knitting and crochet classes taught by volunteers from SCAD, Savannah Arts, the Housing Authority and Senior Citizens Inc. 

Easley immediately thought of Molly's love for knitting and children 

and asked her to be a part of the project. The first class had about 10 kids, and a handful of volunteers. About half of the children successfully learned to knit, but the other half found it too frustrating. Seeing their frustration spurred Molly into creating a series of projects that would be fun and accessible while also building fine motor skills.

 The growth and development of Loop it Up closely mirrored that of the West Broad Street YMCA. As the Y got fixed up and grew into a true community center 

with a library, a fully-equipped gym and, ultimately, a pool, more and more people became members and the need for more art classes sprung up! 


In spring 2009, Molly realized that developing the Loop it Up program was what she wanted to continue doing with her life! She began speaking with the director of the YMCA Peter Doliber about the possibility of making her position an actual job. They turned to grants, and have since been very fortunate in receiving enough funding to sustain the program!

They have had a lot of really wonderful volunteers from SCAD, both students and faculty. Students have also been exceptionally generous in donating art supplies-- the entire program, now over 100 children, uses donated supplies, throughout the school year and all summer long!

 "I have always loved making things, both for the finished product & the wonderful process of figuring out HOW on earth to do it. That love grew enormously at SCAD, as I learned so many new ways to make things. 

Working with Pamela & Cayewah in particular grew my enthusiasm and feeling of the importance of making beautiful, perhaps functional things.

I really see my work with the kids as a part of the life long body of work that I am in the middle of making. I think that if we are lucky enough to find 

something that we love and brings us such fulfillment, 

we have sort of a joyful responsibility to pass it along. 

Nothing makes me happier than passing on my favorite things in the world to the kids and getting to see the excitement and pride they feel when they first 

"get" how to do or make something."

If you are not a knitter but would like to help please take a look at Molly's wish list. 

shopSCAD and West Broad YMCA will gladly accept supply donations!

Wish List:

Paper - all sizes, weights, colors
Markers

Crayons

Pastels

Pencils

Pens

Paint

Glue

Tape 

Glitter/ glitter glue

Yarn 

Fabric

Ribbons/Trims/ Strings/Thread

Beads

Buttons

Sequins/ spangles

TOOLS

Needles (sewing, tapestry)

Crochet Hooks

Knitting Needles (straight, circular, double point)

Embroidery hoops

Scissors

Staplers

Hole punchers

Paint brushes

Stamps

Artist Bio

I was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts. As a kid, I spent a lot of time collecting and sorting things that I had found outside and around the house. This habit of collecting and sorting lends itself well making---and so I did a lot of that too. Somewhere along the line I realized that I could, and should spend my life making things!

I moved to Savannah in 2006 to attend SCAD, and have been a part-time fibers student ever since. I live in Baldwin Park with my sweet puppy dog, Riva and coordinate the 

Loop It Up Savannah Project-- classes, special events and art materials donations.

Molly's latest fiber work: Security Blankets

  

"When you work intensely with children, you become aware of the world that the live in--the parts that are good and the parts that are bad. There is a lot that we can do to make their world a safe, happy and good place to live. But there are also some bad things which we can’t really fix. This can create a helpless feeling, and it is very hard to watch a child-- or anyone-- struggling and to feel that you can’t help them. Becoming acquainted with this reality has inspired a body of work that so far I am calling Safety Blankets. 

It is a collection of knit and quilted work that deals with symbols, patterns and intention of comfort, protection and care.

 The process of making is very comforting to me, and it helps me work through things that are hard to accept and understand. Making something over time enables you to stitch, and really ingrain a sentiment or set of ideas into an object which becomes a part of the world that we live in. I find that putting my thoughts, concerns and sometimes painful knowledge into an object that over time, through a lot of care can become very beautiful to be a helpful process. Helpful in understanding and reacting to parts of life that are hard to accept-- that which I can’t fix, or make better. And also productive in discovering the things that I can do ---- which is important-- learning to dwell on the things that we are capable of, rather than wallowing in those huge issues that leave us feeling helpless. 

Sometimes, through the process of making I am able to pinpoint realistic and concrete things that can be done to make improvements to our town, neighborhoods, relationships, a child who might be struggling. I think that is why I am an artist-we all need to find something to do in reaction to the world that we live in. Making, passing on knowledge about making is what I know how to do to understand the happenings around me. 

Through making, there is a chance to get at the next step, a better, safer, fuller & happier version of what we have now."

Please read excerpt below from Savannah Now article on Molly and the Loop it Up Program to see the impact she is having on her students!

"She also has a knack for nurturing something that wasn't there before in some of her art students - self-respect, said Peter Doliber, executive director and CEO of the West Broad Street YMCA.

The story of one 8- or 9-year-old boy who had been labeled a disruptive slow learner is a prime example of her skill, Doliber said. The boy spent weeks pulling apart scraps of fabric instead of doing the activity Lieberman had in mind. She never scolded him or insisted he do it her way; she let him explore.

Then one day she introduced an activity where the kids first drew a picture and were supposed to stitch over their drawing in a kind of elementary crewel work.

The so-called troublemaker created a beautiful ladybug, stitching and all, before Lieberman had even finished showing the kids how. He had figured out the stitching from examining the weave of all that fabric he had shredded.

Lieberman told him he was "really smart," Doliber recalled. The boy agreed, saying he thought he wanted to become an architect or engineer.

"I credit Molly for letting him absorb it, then moving ahead," Doliber said. 

"That could be the life-changer for that kid. 

She has a gift and she is a gift."